What’s behind Abbas’ amnesty gesture as Dahlan, others eye role in postwar Gaza?
The move relates to exiled rival Mohammed Dahlan and comes as the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia are pushing for reforms of the Palestinian Authority.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas offered amnesty to expelled members of his Fatah movement on Tuesday, potentially paving the way for United Arab Emirates-based rival Mohammed Dahlan to participate in postwar Gaza.
Abbas announced a “general amnesty for all dismissed members of the Fatah movement, as part of efforts to strengthen internal unity and organizational cohesion,” the Palestinian Authority’s WAFA news agency reported, citing the president’s speech in Cairo on Tuesday.
Abbas was in Cairo to attend the emergency Arab summit on postwar Gaza, where all member states endorsed an Egyptian plan calling for a “technocratic” committee under the authority of the PA to administer Gaza during the rebuilding of the war-torn enclave.
The Palestinian leader endorsed the plan and said the PA is ready to operate in Gaza, which has been internally controlled by Hamas since the group ousted Fatah from the Strip in 2007. Abbas additionally announced the creation of a vice president position within the PA and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), an umbrella of Palestinian nationalist groups that he heads.
